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The government subsequently gave its blessing to the rees- allowed back in. Supplies were delivered twice a week.
tablishment of a permanent Jewish civilian presence in Soldiers were placed on the second floor to guard us. They
Chevron. Prime Minister Menachem Begin stated at the had bathrooms, electricity and running water. We took
time, “Chevron is also [part of] Israel. I will not allow for electricity from them for a small fridge. We had kerosene
any place Israel to be ‘Judenrein.’” The pioneering women lamps, water in jerrycans, and baby bathtubs for washing
were eventually joined by their husbands. dishes. Our days were spent preparing meals and occupy-
ing the children.”
In July 2020, Mrs. Levinger penned a partial memoir of It was a singular honor to have G-d declare that the
those days:
Beit Hadassah “A truck was organized to come to Kiryat Arba at three women were right. There were elements in the army,
police and Knesset members who campaigned against us.
o’clock in the morning to transport us to Beit Hadassah.
But I was secure in the knowledge that the Jews settled
Israel 4,000 years ago, in obedience to G-d’s command.”
Yeshiva students from Nir Yeshiva joined to help. We
From Hospital to Home parked in the street behind Beit Hadassah, we all climbed In 1980, Beit Hadassah, along with the Hason and Castel
into the courtyard by ladder and entered the building. We
family homes, was rebuilt.
gave cookies and oranges to the children and put them to
sleep on mattresses on the floor. That was the beginning. Ultimately, zoning approval was obtained, which served
Our conditions were terrible. No running water or elec- as a basis for the renewal of the community. During this
tricity. We had only chemical toilets and lots of dirt, dust period, Beit Hadassah and other historic buildings were
and mold. renovated. They were redesigned by the noted architect
David Cassuto and re-inaugurated on January 20, 1986.
I reminded myself of the original chalutzim [Zionist pio-
neers] in the 1900’s and realized we were much better off Cassuto also helped plan and rebuild other historic syna-
gogues throughout Israel.
than them. We slept on mattresses on the floor and the
women from Kiryat Arba helped with basic needs, includ- In 1999, the foundation for the Beit HaShisha building was
ing food and laundry. The army realized after many days laid as a tribute to the early pioneers of the reestablished
that we were not planning on leaving, regardless of our community.
conditions.
Today, about 30 Jewish families live in Beit Hadassah,
Binyamin Ben Eliezer, Commander of Yehuda and Shom- which is a thriving residential complex with a playground,
ron, came and surrounded Beit Hadassah with barbed synagogue and a museum and visitor’s center on the
wire. He warned us that if anyone left, they would not be ground floor.

Remembering Rabbanit Miriam Levinger years of residence under military government and another
eight years in Kiryat Arba, a group of women and children
Born in 1937 in the USA, Miriam Beinhorn Levinger immi- led by Rabbanit Levinger sacrificed their personal comfort
grated to Israel in 1956. After graduating from college, to live in the abandoned Hadassah building in Chev-
Miriam attended Shaare Zedek Nursing School. In ron. This opened the way for Jewish settlement in
1959, she married Rabbi Moshe Levinger, a stu- Chevron.
dent of the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva and one of Since then, other neighborhoods have been
the prominent students of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda established, leaning on the resolve and
Kook. Rabbi Levinger served as the Rabbi of spirit of Rabbi and Rabbanit Levinger, who
Kibbutz Lavi and later the Rabbi of Moshav dedicated their lives to expanding settle-
Nechalim. ment in Chevron and throughout Israel.

In 1968, just after the Six-Day War, Rabbi Rabbanit Levinger passed away this year on
Moshe and Miriam brought their little children Motzei Yom Kippur. She was 83 years old and
along with other participants to settle in the Park is survived by 11 children and 50 grandchildren,
Hotel in Chevron. In doing so, Rabbi Levinger initiated most of whom live in Judea and Samaria. Her husband
the resettling of the City of our Forefathers. After three passed away in 2015.

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